School super, 'remote learning not going to replace in-person instruction'

By Sandy Quadros Bowles

Tuesday

Apr 21, 2020 at 8:40 PMApr 21, 2020 at 8:40 PM

Although Gov. Charlie Baker’s decision to cancel school through the end of the year was “probably not a great surprise to most,’’ the news “moves the unknown into mid-June and beyond,’’ Superintendent of Schools James Cummings said in a message to the school community.

Gov. Baker’s announcement April 21 that schools will not reopen this academic year means Grafton will continue remote learning through June 13.

“The reality of eight more weeks of remote learning is a challenge for all of us,’’ Mr. Cummings said. “Our immediate challenge is to further strengthen remote learning for the extension and ensure that we are meeting as many student and parental needs as possible.’’

Mr. Cummings said that many issues must be addressed including “graduation, summer services and even the start of the 2020-2021 school year.’’

“We simply do not know what the status of things will be in June or the following months,’’ he wrote. “We are basically creating numerous plans that can be utilized depending on what the situation looks like once we get to June, July, etc. It is far from ideal, but is the best we can do given the circumstances.’’

In his daily news briefing, Gov. Baker said closing the schools was not an easy decision, but it was the correct one.

“It’s the right thing to do considering the factors on the ground associated with the Covid-19 pandemic,’’ the governor said. “There is no authoritative guidance or advisory with regard to how to operate schools safely and how to get kids to and from schools safely.’’

He gave a shout out to the school community.

“We appreciate how challenging it is to be apart from your students and still keep them motivated and committed,’’ he said.

The school community will work to prepare for potential summer learning, particularly for students who have fallen behind their grade levels, “to ensure a strong start for all students in the fall,’’ the governor said.

Grafton will see “no significant changes in how the remote learning program is constituted,’’ Mr. Cummings wrote. “New learning will simply be weaved into the remote learning program.’’

The state will be putting out additional guidance for school districts to follow in the next week, he wrote.

“We are planning on the need to move forward with new curriculum for all grade levels,’’ he wrote. “We will be working to identify the components of the curriculum that are most critical, and making sure to focus on those standards through the remainder of the school year.’’

He stressed that remote learning is “hard on everyone and is far from perfect. While we are going to do our very best to make remote learning as meaningful as possible, it is not going to replace in-person instruction.’’

Remote learning involves “ ‘off’ days and missteps for all of us. Life is going to get in the way.’’

The district is aware that there are “sure to be countless times that parents can’t figure out how to help their children, kids will be kids, and the technology just won’t work, etc. That is all going to happen and it’s OK.’’

In a personal aside, he noted that his own household is not immune to these challenges. The morning of the governor’s announcement, “my youngest overslept and missed a class. I meant to check to make sure she was up and didn’t.’’

But, this will all pass, he said.

“Eventually, we will return to school as we have known it and we will bounce back. When we do return to normal, we will make sure that no one is left behind," he said.